2004 MPV LX ignition problem ... bad coils. Should all the coils be replaced or only to the cylinders that are not firing correctly? Is this a problem that should have been addressed by a factory recall? Replacement of two coils covered by extended warranty ... warranty will expire in six months any suggestions. Thank You...

I should have provided that although the van will five years old in six months it has only has 32,270 miles. It has a 5 year/60,000 mile extended warranty. It has been serviced by Mazda dealer ten times since purchase (approximately every 3,000 miles) and had a complete 30,000 mile service six months ago NO problems noted. It is in other wise excellent condition, very clean and has always been garaged. It was my intention to drive it for another two years minimum and trade prior to 50,000 miles. However, if this recent development is going to be a major problem resulting in large repair bills and/or inconvenience, I will reconsider. Look forward to your response(s) to assist me in the decision process. Thank You ... kyotogolfdad I should have provided that although the van will five years old in six months it has only has 32,270 miles. It has a 5 year/60,000 mile extended warranty. It has been serviced by Mazda dealer ten times since purchase (approximately every 3,000 miles) and had a complete 30,000 mile service six months ago NO problems noted. It is in other wise excellent condition, very clean and has always been garaged. It was my intention to drive it for another two years minimum and trade prior to 50,000 miles. However, if this recent development is going to be a major problem resulting in large repair bills and/or inconvenience, I will reconsider. Look forward to your response(s) to assist me in the decision process. Thank You ... kyotogolfdad

See additional comments added that probably were not available prior to rendering of Solution #1. What I really want to know is that considering the age and mileage can this problem be expected to be resolved in short order or is it going to be a draw out ... creating considerable inconvenience and expense??? Thank You ... kyotogolfdadSee additional comments added that probably were not available prior to rendering of Solution #1. What I really want to know is that considering the age and mileage can this problem be expected to be resolved in short order or is it going to be a draw out ... creating considerable inconvenience and expense??? Thank You ... kyotogolfdad

5 Answers

Welcome to the MPV ignition problem club...I'm a member too.
I've had this problem for the past year. I've had the PCV recall (TSB # 2204H) issue fixed. http://mazdaforum.com/recalls-and-tsbs/make_MAZDA/model_MPV/year_2003/id_2204H/TSB.htm . Then the German Mazda dealer maintenance said it was the Ignition Coils so I replaced all the Spark plugs and all 6 Ignition Coils and I still had the problem. In another posted Tech Service Bulletin it specifically addressed this concern. TSB # 01-023/05 , Engine Misfire Detection Procedure http://www.mpvclub.com/tsb.php?id=172 . Basically, the Mazda maintenance crew has to scan it for Misfires and then if this is the problem, fix it in accordance with the Mazda Workshop Manual (section 01-03 No. 11). I'm statoned in Germany, so it's been a real pain and I'm still trying to get this problem fixed. Hopefully this should be easier to rectify stateside. Hope this helps.

I would replace all the coils as some of the coils have already failed so you are only going to have the same problem down the road (fix it once and fix it right the first time). If the company has already issued a recall for faulty ignition coil then yes they should fix all problems related to the recall, however I checked on this and a recall has not been sent out. Having the problem fixed is a more viable solution and a less expensive one and a smarter one in the log run. The car is in otherwise excellent shape, only 32k miles and has been well maintained. If you trade it in at 50k you will have lost more money in the long run. This vehicle should run well into the 140k mile range with just oil changes and regular scheduled maintenance. Keep the vehicle and take the money you are not going to lose trading it in and buy yourself a "I made a smart decision" gift for yourself!

I owned an MPV and after 6 trips to the shop all of the packs were finally replaced before all was right. They tried to replace piecemeal to save THEIR money but after all was said and done all units had to be done. There was no recall at the time but I talked to a district warranty rep. and he got things done. That is probably what you should do also.

You can replace the defective coil only as that would solve your immediate concern. But like in most paired devices/components (like sparkplugs, injectors) it would be to your advantage to replace simultaneously as the aging would be the same and future maintenance could be more predictable.

Incidentally, to my knowledge, there was no recall based on this fault but there was a TSB (Technical Service Bulletin) informing dealer technicians and mechanics on how to deal with a particular problem.

Just a start, do postback how things turned up or should you need additional information. Good luck and Thank you for using FixYa.

Based on the mileage, I would suggest dealer repair, i.e. replacement of both coil packs. As it is, their is already a "downtime" deciding on the repair now would be to your advantage as in a day or two, the vehicle would be functional again. If you were to dispose of it now (as it is) then the value would be considerably lower, hence your losses would be higher. On the other hand, a repaired/functional vehicle would buy you time and your losses would be minimal (repairs). You can defer sale/trade, have still use of a vehicle while considering the possible replacement (with no hurry).

Of course, we cannot discount Murphy's Law, but at least one thing that can go wrong has been addressed even before it happened.Hi again,

Here is to hoping you were referring to my posting.

Based on the mileage, I would suggest dealer repair, i.e. replacement of both coil packs. As it is, their is already a "downtime" deciding on the repair now would be to your advantage as in a day or two, the vehicle would be functional again. If you were to dispose of it now (as it is) then the value would be considerably lower, hence your losses would be higher. On the other hand, a repaired/functional vehicle would buy you time and your losses would be minimal (repairs). You can defer sale/trade, have still use of a vehicle while considering the possible replacement (with no hurry).

Of course, we cannot discount Murphy's Law, but at least one thing that can go wrong has been addressed even before it happened.

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Related Questions:

There are a few things that can cause an engine misfire and hesitation. Does your van have a CoP ignition system? (Separate ignition coils for each spark plug) Or coil pack? You may have bad ignition coil(s); that would cause a misfire. If you have a dirty/clogged/leaky fuel injector for cylinder 3, that could also cause a misfire condition. When you replaced all the spark plugs, did you look at the plug from cylinder 3? Did they all look the same? Sometimes you can get clues to what is going on in your cylinder by how the spark plug looks: if it's white or glazed you are running too lean and could indicate fuel injection problem, if it's got burnt oil on it and it's sludgy you may have a leaky gasket or worn piston ring that is letting oil up into the combustion chamber and fouling the plug, causing a misfire. If your check engine light comes back on and it's the same misfire code, have the coil for cylinder 3 checked to see if it's weak or bad. Or you can do a home remedy check and swap a known good ignition coil from another cylinder to 3, reset the code, and see if the misfire moves to another cylinder. If it does, you know the coil is bad. You can pick up an ignition coil for pretty cheap on the internet ($30-$70) if that's the problem and they're simple to install (a pain if they're on a cylinder that's under the intake manifold, but just because you have to unbolt a bunch of stuff to get to it...time consuming but not too difficult). I have a 2001 Mazda Tribute and had a couple of ignition coils go bad, causing misfires. This seems to be a semi-common problem for early 2000's Mazdas.

Unless you care to walk a new ignition coil untilyou get all the bad ones, you will get the job donequicker with professional tools used to look forcylinder misfires,failing coils,vacuum leaks,fueltrim,cylinder contribution & more

The coil on plug style ignition coils have been a very weak spot in the 2002 and later MPV. Moisture can get inside and short out the internal workings. Also make sure that you have the correct electrical connectors plugged into the correct ignition coil. It is possible to accidently swap the connectors for #4 and #6 ignition coils and the harness still looks like it is routed correctly.

You still have random misfires (PO300)
You most likely replaced those coils that set a code, and those were not the one bad offender,spiking the computer module.
Take a new coil and put in a cylinder,no change, replace old coil and move new one to next cylinder. You can do that once or twice a day, if you have nothing else to do. You need a 90 degree day, to really get that solved,unless you have an ignition oscilloscope.
Never had a bad spark plug in 45 years.

well if you need to change the coil because of a missfire then the engine codes should tell you wich cylinders were missfireing the just see wich one goes to that cylinder
those coils just dont go bad normaly
why you replacing it?